Seen At 11: Wounded Marine Walks The Runway As A Male Model

NEW YORK (CBS 2) — A Marine who was wounded in Afghanistan has returned home to work as a model.

For Alex Minsky getting from the battlefield to the runway wasn’t easy. The Marine lost a leg when his Humvee hit an improvised explosive device during a patrol in Afghanistan in 2009. Minsky spent 47 days in a coma and woke up to find much of his body covered in burns.

“I had to learn how to see, relearn how to do everything, how to walk, how to talk, how to think, how to listen, how to see,” he said.

Tattoos now cover the burn scars, but the loss of his leg was much harder to cover.

Minksy was fitted with a prosthetic, and after an intensive therapy program, he began training at a gym. That’s when he was discovered by a local photographer.

“He said, ‘Have you ever modeled before? Has anyone ever approached you for that,'” he said.

The Marine is now a highly successful model and has done shoots for underwear, jewelry, and tattoo ads. The veteran told CBS 2’s Maurice Dubois that he isn’t modeling for fame, but he wants to inspire others like fellow veteran Mylee Cardenas, who was diagnosed with stage-3 breast cancer.

“You see what he can do and the moment you see that you kind of just look at it like your problems aren’t that big and you keep going,” Cardenas said.

Minsky told CBS 2 that the phone has been ringing off the hook with modeling opportunities, and that he hopes his new-found fame will reach those who have struggles like him.

“I’m just hoping that people can see me from near or far away and be given that extra push not to give up,” he said.

Part of the money that Minsky makes is donated to the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that helps injured service members.